Collapsible form for concrete wall construction



P. J. CALLAN March 6, 1951 COLLAPSIBLE FORM FOR CONCRETE WALL. CONSTRUCTION 4 SheefcS-Sheet l Filed March 24. 1947 INVENTOR.

` PE/f J CZQM/V March 6, 1951 R J, CALLAN 2,544,297

COLLAPSIBLE FORM F'OR CONCRETE WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed MaIGh 24, 1947 A4 Shee'S--Sheel 2 f v -INVENTOR. P47270? f @aM/V P. J. CALLAN March 6, 1951 COLLAPSIBLE FORM FOR CONCRETE WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed March 24. 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. PATRICK J CL/V' BY March 6, 1951 lF, J, @ALLAN 2,544,297

COLLAPSIBLE FORM FOR CONCRETE-WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed March 24, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 .Ffayf JNVENTOR.

Pa/*cfr* J @MLA/V BY @WwW/4M Patented Mar. 6, 951

"ffoonLAPsIBLE-FORM FomeoNonEfmfWAnL -v v@ons'rRUoTIoN-vA y :This "invention relates: to building V1cansi-inn; i

`tien and more. fparticu-larly Ywall #forms for -receiving poured r :concrete to east the walls of 'eircom or' seriesv of rooms in a singleoperation.

l Heretoforefin ordento havetwallffoims'which cnuldl be easily removedl from the hardened concrete, itl-has been considered necessary-lampre- 'vide `:forms vwlfiicligive Je` mannered will, or- 'forms which would have to be almost --entirely f disaszsembled.'.tofpullrthem ont of rthe:-eoxierete'i--witlfi- --Jont damage The :tapered forms maden" room which; was .oi-'smaller area; attl thea-Hoor" than at Line-'ceiling and thusean awkwardand 'distorted ippealance, and l the other forms required time for .assembly andrremovl It is an object ofithe. f-present invention *to :provide la "building:A v'lnfll-z ferml fm2`v the room: of a house. 4wherein the sides =need not be tapered fand kwherein, lthe form can ibeadequately-co1- 'Llepsed both at the y.top/and fbottom so thaii'ffth'e same can'. be easilypulled out othe space withlont any :slight chance off thewallsizbeing injured nmdarnaxgged,

. :It; ;is. 'another1 Vabject of the present 1-invento-n otogprovide; la, .locking device for collapsible forms `*xi/hielt .isi fusedf ini.. the. corneztsnf .the innei'f :Eoiiin :'endvwhchuwill; Amove inwendig the-:side-edges f of flbotnparts of the'formflocated ati the'fcorner'zend wherein :when these .ivmkirigffclevieesv are moved to extend 1 the .side edges,` theesame will -`Vlne* iee-l tined' so :as tou-give La 'good loek-ingengegement @of .fthei'sidewedges 1 and in abutting Y.iifelaltiorisliia l-.wi g li,none.anothelz Y i sylt-is, .another nbs'eet.. :of the presentvinvention to provideenismple rran'gementffnr 'lockingto- :gather the outer nnd sinner "forms at theiftop s edgesithereof.- A 1 :A'urther object is the provision of- @collapsible f-:inner form -ori tank-dike structure inv which-each ai ythe .,perizs` isz-rigid or iniexibletuom--one -co1-ner @of the tanki il) 1; the next. 1; tierebyrobviating f' tlie zcueeessity Vnf -ainypfseperate stiifening. eleme'intsfto prevent the tank Walls .from sagging; inward-ly under the `pressantei-of the pouredieonerete-snroundingie it iszfstillif'another object: offthepresent@ inventio n to i provide a s'imple hoisting bar arrangeffment which will fengageiwithiithe .side parts: .of ,1;e;in1 1er form s uioientiy :toffee eertain1-that equali-1iiting-aforce will-:bezapplied: upon:ell-:sides.n

of theform, atthe; t1me:of;its;ivithdizawmi :from ether-oom whieiiuhas been ormedgnyztheasaimei y For-other objects auditivebetter understand-- .1 -,i 3 hadft :atheineet-,ion withithe accompanying dlawines.y in which: I i Fig. i1 is; a;perspective :View looking downxinto the interior ofaernished: room of a vhouse with 1 thef inner form or .texi-kreleased` from the Walls .thereofand aboutxto hedrawn out of thefsenrx by air-hoisting cable.

Fig2 is a; top viewfchiey sectionl but .partin;pla,n, o the conerete wa'llfand of the.. inner a' and-'fouten forms'. :the inner form being inn its expandedgor cementfreceiving position.

' Fgiffzis aifragmentary top plamview of 4one #moved from tha-room. l

: eorner of ithe' nnrend outer forms showing Athe (fastening devices extending ,across vthe top fedgesefetlie formsgfornsecuring the sameztoigetheri,

Fig:` 4 isiaitransversenrossfsectionalview: taken through thezbuildngf structure andV ther interior 4wall form wheny the lform parts havefbeen released as inFig 1 endz preparatory to4 being 11e theyarrowsthereof an'dnpongone of the inner form Darts.- i

-nne borner; of l the-outer vwall form lookingaupon .the Wingnut `foritightening the fastening de- Mwst i the-lo'ckin''gcdevicesV with the same'in its looked Jposition.

Fig- 9 iS a side elevational View of tliel'oizsking v10v Its-fn View .similarlto Fig.. l8 except that the handle for the locking r :device l has :been lietheraiim has beenmovedrto-awgreater extent and snnicently to move .ibothof theo'rm; parte away fromtlie wail :surface i Referring now to Fig; 2, 2l represents-an outer wall'form1made off-sheet metal, suchwasfieold -rolied-steel; the inner face rif/Which is smoothzzand the outer'face vof .Whchfis reinforced with/verti- :cally vvextending frneteilrias122.y l"This form '2] extends tlniougliontA the height of' thel rstA storly iof al :honseands-malde 4up of: `parts, one: partfor Y.eeenIside wai-1i offviheheuse. Atw'the cornersjof the parts there are provided angle iron strips 23 which are secured to the sheet material and which have holes therethrough for receiving securing bolts 24, Fig. 3. The top of each outer form part has an outwardly extending iiange 25 with upstanding lugs 26 spaced from one another along the outer edge of the flange and adapted to receive fastening rods 21 connected with radially inwardly extending flanges ,-28 of inner wall form 29. Wing nuts 3| are provided on the fastening rods to tighten them. The op posite ends of the rods have hook portions 32 adapted to iit down over thje edge of the iianges 28, Fig. 6. When the forms are assembled there will be provided a space between them into which concrete 33 will be poured. Theiianges 25 and 28 serve as the supports for men working on the4 t;

ing ribs 36 and a plurality of vertically spaced-f? laterally-extending reinforcing members 31. 'Beneath the flanges 28 are box-like brackets 38 which loosely receive the ends of hoisting bars 39 vvand 40, Fig. 1. The bars 4U extend in one vdirection and the bars 39 extend. in anotherdirection 1 f tion. These bars 39 and 46 are tied together by; The plate 4| has anv a plate 4| and U-bolts 42. `eye projection 43 into which a cable 44 can be extended. This cable 44 can be grasped by a hook 45 of a crane cable 46. By this arrangement the entire inner wall form 29 is lowered onto a" vpreviously formed floor 41, Fig. 6, .resting upon a .foundation wall 46.v The locking deV'ices"'are --preferably extended toa'locked position to-'rmake the form rigid and to facilitate the locating of nfthe'fornr29 upon the .floor 41. The locating of .fthe form 29 can be done either beforeY the outer 4wall form has been set up or at a later time. One of these inner wall forms 29 will be employed for each roomor closet of the house. The closet 'space is indicated at 49, Fig. 2.. l:Ulshaped straps 5| are secured to two of the vertical ribs 36 to provide a ladder by which workmen can enter rand leave the form 29. f-

In order to provide a windowV opening in the completed wall, metal bucks or' frames 52 'are disposed therein and supported by. through. bolts 53 extending between the inner andlouterfiwall forms and bearing against the inside lof the :frames Before removing the forms, these bolts ,i153 will'be withdrawn from them. Door frames \55 extending into closet space 49 and into an adjoining room will be similarly retained by through bolts 53. j Referring now particularly to Figs. 8 to 11, there will be described the action of the locking devices 34 used in the corners of the inner wall foi-ms. There is a set of three locking devices 34 in each corner, one nearthe floor, one near the ceiling and the third in an intermediate position.. These locking devices include an operating hand lever 51 having a bifurcated portion 58 which is pivoted at its outer end to a pivot pin 6| extending between and through vertically spaced brackets 62 on one form part and retained therein by cotter pins 63. The form part is rounded at the corner as indicated at 64 whereby to provide a rounded wall corner in the room which is easy to clean and which permits the forms to be of such shape and without sharp side edges that they will be extracted from the cement walls without damaging the wall.

' On a laterally-extending plate 65, which is welded to the associated tank part 35, there is provided a projection 66 adapted to extend through the bifurcated portion 58 of the lever 51 for connection therewith by means of a pin 61 secured thereto by cotter pins 68. When the lever 51 is in the position shown in Fig. 8, the wall units are retained in flush and abutting engagement and their side edges are joined as indicated at 69.' In'order to insure accurate aline- 1 ment of the meeting edges 69 of the tank sides,

and to'support the edge at the extremity of the rounded portion 64, there is provided a vertically extending reinforcing bar 10 welded to the adjacent form part 35, and overlapping the edge of the latter as shown in Fig. 10. Each tank 29 has four bars 10-one in each corner-providing positive stops limiting expansion of the tank. Another reinforcing bar 10a is welded to the rounded part 64 in spaced relation to the edge aforesaid On the plate 65 is an upwardly extending bracket 1| of U-shape and to which is pivoted a-catch 12 by means of a bolt 13. This catch is pivoted over the lever 51 to retain the Asame in the locked position.

As the lever 51 is pulled clockwise aboutthe pivot 6| to the position shown in Fig. 10, the part having the projection 66 is first pulled inwardly from the concrete wall surface. On further movement of the lever 51 toward the position shown in Fig. 11, the pin 61 encounters increasing resistance to translatory movement, whereupon the lever 51 pivots on pin 61, imparting translatory motion to pin 6|. Such motion is transmitted through the bracket 62 to the adjament unit, as a result of which the latter 'unit will be pulled inwardly and made to overlap the end of the first unit. Whenl the lever 51 is moved to a further extent than' shown in Fig. l1, the units will be moved away from the concrete wall to the maximum extent. Thereafter the inner wall form may be easily removed from the top of the room. The crane cable 46"will be tightened 55 and lifting of the form will be effected.

In operation, the builder starts with a concrete iioor 41 and foundation Wall 48 (Fig. 6) from which project embedded rods 15 around the vborder of the oor. 12S-one for each room, or closet-are lowered The inner forms o`r vtanks to their approximate position bythe crane cable 46. The window. bucks are temporarily located and hung on the outsides of the tanks by means of bolts 53. The same is done for the door frames. The four walls of the outer form 2| are positioned with their bottoms resting on foundation vwall -48 and lying iiush against the perimeter of floor 41, and are then bolted together. Reinforcing mesh and conduits are placed in the spacesbetween forms, where concrete is to be poured.

An operator enters the interior of one of the tanks 29 by descending-the ladder 5|. He pushes each of the twelve levers 51 until it is locked by the associated catch-12, thereby expanding the vinner form or tank 29 into the Fig. 2 position in which it constitutes a rigid, inflexible, non-collapsible structure as long as the" levers are held by their respective catches. The space between the inner and outer forms, or between two contiguous inner forms, is automatically adjusted to conform with the thickness .of the window frames 52, door frames 55, and spacing blocks (not shown). The forms are locked in their final positions by tightening the fastening rods 21 (Figs. 2 and 3), the transverse bolts 53 encompassed within the window and door frames, and other transverse bolts 16 joining the forms near the bottom as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

The spaces between the forms are then lled with a rich mixture of concrete ,of 1-2-2 mix, puddled thoroughly against the steel forms ywhich have very smooth finished surfaces. After asetting of about twenty-four hours, the fastening rods 21, and bolts 53 and 16 are removed, ,the catches 12 are released, locking levers 51 are pulled to collapse the inner forms or tanks to the Fig. 4 position, and the forms are removed, leaving a set of finished walls, which do not require carpentry, lumber, nails, lathing or plastering.

Each inner form 29 is lifted in one piece out of the finished room by the crane cable 46 and moved to the next locationV to provide a form for the room of another house.

By placing a concrete floor on top of the completed walls, the building may be conditioned for the construction of second floor rooms in the same manner and by the use of similar forms as in the case of the first iioor rooms shown in Fig. 1.

It should now be apparent that there have been provided, inner and outer wall forms for build- :ze

ing a house with rooms therein, which are of simple construction, easy to set up and easy to withdraw from the final building structure. It should also be apparent that the rooms are without tapered walls and that the inner wall form comprises parts, one part for each side of a room, and that each of these parts are withdrawn inwardly and are completely separated from the inner wall surface of the room at the time of the withdrawal of the inner wall form from therbuilding structure.

While various changes may be made inthe detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A wall form arrangement for building construction, which comprises an outer wall form adapted to form the exterior wall surface of the v 55 building structure, an inner wall form comprising multiple plate parts, one for each wall surface of a room, said parts having edges adapted to be drawn into flush engagement with one another, one of said parts at each corner having a rounded portion, the other of said parts at each corner terminating short of said corners, said parts being mounted for movement relative to each other from a position where the juxtaposed edges thereof are flush and in engagement with each other to a position where said edges overlap, and a locking lever device disposed in each of the corners and connected between the adjacent parts to expand the inner wall form, to position the edges of the parts into flush engagement with each other and to retain the same in such engagement, said locking lever device being operable to contract the parts, whereby the edges of said parts may overlap one another upon the parts to reduce the size of the inner wall form, whereby said inner wall form may be withdrawn from a wall.

2. A wall form arrangement for building construction as defined in claim 1 and stop means on the edges of the respective parts which terminate short of said corner and engageable with the respective rounded portions to limit the expansion of said parts when in the position where 4 the edges are in flush engagement with each other.

3. A wall form arrangement for building construction as defined in claim 1 and a hoisting bar structure comprising bars intersecting one another, said bars being of a length less than the distance between opposite wall form parts, projections on said respective wall form partsrespectively slidably receiving the ends of said bars whereby to permit the collapse and expansion of said wall form parts, and a cable device attached to said bars.

PATRICK J. CALLAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 937,781 Eddy Oct. 26, 1909 1,007,452 Korneiel et al Oct. 31, 1911 1,024,646 Muckey Apr. 30, 1912 1,041,367 Stieler Oct. l5, 1912 1,201,613 Novy Oct. 17, 1916 1,219,272 Edison Mar. 13, '1917 1,236,824 Davis Aug. 14, 1917 1,566,263 Wedberg Dec. 15, 1925 1,694,036 Kuert Dec. 4, 1928 2,217,115 Hermodsson Oct. 8, 1940 

